Banana Split Kate And Claire
by emerie gold
Summary: Split between Kate and Claire's stories. hence the name. Kate discovers a secret, Claire find a body washed up on the beach. Lots of Jate and Skate.
1. Chapter 1

Claire awoke to Aaron's wails, and blinked against the harsh light of the morning sun. For a moment she'd forgotten where she was… But staring up at the underside of her tent canvas she remembered. The island. Charlie. Aaron. Aaron, who had managed to toss his blanket all the way over the other side of their make-shift home. Claire picked it up, shook out the sand and handed it back to Aaron. "You're getting strong, aren't you? Look at these muscles!" She squeezed his pudgy little arms and he gurgled, baring his gums in a crooked smile. "Claire?" Charlie appeared in the doorway of the tent. "Is everything alright? I heard Aaron crying-" "It's fine, Charlie, he was just missing his blanket, that's all," said Claire. She lifted him out of the cradle and sat him in her lap. "He's just been so temperamental lately. I don't understand it." "Maybe he needs a change of scenery," suggested Charlie. "Have you taken him for a paddle in the sea yet?" "He can't even walk yet, Charlie!" exclaimed Claire. "Well, he can sit on the beach and watch us go for a swim, said Charlie. "Come on, you're going to bore yourself to death, spending all your time in here." "Oh, alright," agreed Claire. "But I'm giving him to Sun to babysit. I don't want him getting sunburnt." "Good. Let's go!" said Charlie. Kate smiled at the sight of Charlie and Claire messing around in the water. It had been so long since Kate had loosened up and had some real fun. She felt envious of how carefree Charlie and Claire were. It seemed unfair that even though Claire had a baby son, she could still manage to have some serious fun once in a while. Kate had nothing, and yet she was constantly on edge. Nothing. Maybe that was the problem. "Hey Freckles, what're you thinking?" "Nothing," said Kate, turning to see Sawyer staggering out of his tent. "Liar," he said. "You were thinking something real deep." "Oh really? And what makes you think that?" asked Kate. "Well, when you think too hard, you get this little twitch in the corner of your eye," he said, touching the little lines on her face. Kate batted him away with a sharp swat and a giggle. "I'm due for my shift up at the hatch," she said, edging towards the track. Sawyer nodded. "Don't get too twitchy now," he said, lip curling into a grin, as she rolled her eyes and walked away. The hatch was quiet. Kate scanned the room, and eventually her eyes found Jack, slumped over at the computer. She prodded him. "Jack?" He jolted awake, and groggily opened his eyes. "Sorry… Just dozed off," he mumbled, getting to his feet and yawning widely. "Well, feel free to have a sleep if you want, there's only ten minutes or so until my shift," offered Kate. Jack nodded gratefully. "Thanks. And… would you mind feeding Henry Gale for me? I think there's some cereal in the pantry." "Sure thing," said Kate. Jack nodded his thanks again and shuffled off to the bunks. Kate watched him go, bewildered. Since when did Jack sleep in? Sure enough, half a box of rolled oats were sitting in the pantry. Kate wrinkled her nose. Rolled oats. How boring. But it's not as though Henry Gale deserved any better. She poured a decent amount into a bowl and put it on a tray, along with a glass of water, to take in. Henry was sitting in a corner, eyes heavy lidded, and he stared blankly at Kate as she entered. "Oh, how kind of you to feed me," he said, struggling onto the bench. Kate didn't say anything, just glared at him. My, my. Aren't we the quiet one today. You're always so… contained. You're quite the loner. No friends, no family, am I right?" Kate blinked and a hardened smile crept across Henry's face. "We are alike, you and I, he said, watching her closely, "In more ways than you think." That sentence sparked an anger in Kate. "I am nothing like you," she said, eyes fierce. "You are dirt under my fingernail." But quick as a flash, Henry grabbed her and shoved her against the wall. "Don't speak of things you know nothing about," he said. "I can see the same withdrawn look in you that I once had." He was so close Kate could smell the venom on his breath. A calloused hand crept up around her throat. "But I am not above killing someone so like myself. CRACK! A fist collided with Henry's head, and his eyes clouded over as he fell to the ground. Jack appeared in the doorway, massaging his knuckles. "Don't touch her again," he spat at Henry's retreating form. Jack grabbed Kate's wrist and pulled her out of the safe, slamming the door. "Are you okay?" he asked, checking her throat for bruising. "I'm fine," said Kate. Her skin tingled where he touched it. "What on earth did you say to make him react like that?" asked Jack, relenting from his doctorly inspection. "Me? I didn't say anything! exclaimed Kate. "He said… He said we were alike," said Kate, trying not to show how much that had affected her. It was like Henry knew what she'd done, that horrible deed she tried so hard to forget every day. "What? Why would he say that?" snorted Jack. He caught sight of the faraway look Kate had. "Relax, Kate, you're nothing like him. He's trying to wind you up, that's all." Kate nodded, and a bleeping sound reached their ears. "I better go do the button," she said, hurrying away, trying to mask her worried face. If a man who barely knew her could tell she was so… tainted, what must everyone else think? 


	2. Chapter 2

" I don't care what planet you're on, Australian music is pathetic," insisted Charlie, floating on his back. "Is Charlie-warlie jealous that he comes from a country where even the sun won't show its face?" teased Claire. "No, I'm just saying that no matter how sunny your country is, it just isn't very... talented when it comes to the music industry." "Well, you can believe that if you want to," said Claire, pulling herself up onto a rock. "If it makes you feel any better." Charlie chuckled. "It does." Claire looked out at the glistening waves. It was so beautiful here, sitting on this rock in the sun on the beautiful island. How unfortunate that they happened to be stranded here. If they were here on a holiday, Claire knew everyone would appreciate the island a lot more. Her keen eyes spotted something dark in the water. It looked big enough to be a shark, but it was still and stiff, and flat, like... a person. "Claire?" asked Charlie, seeing a strange look twist across her face. She didn't answer, but she slid into the water and began wading out even further. "Claire, I don't think you should go too far out..." Claire ignored him. If there was a person out there she had to help him. She was gettting closer. It was getting deeper, she had to start swimming, and the person was almost within reach. A dark, thick mop of hair and a blue shirt was distinguishable, although both were very dirty. Treading water, Claire reached out a trembling hand and turned the body over. And the face that stared back at her made her scream. And she kept screaming until Charlie dragged her back up the beach and sat her down on the shoreline. "Claire, what's the matter?" he asked deperately, shaking her gently by the shoulders. "What did you see?" Claire shook her head, gasping for breath, tears stinging her eyes. "Claire, you've gotta tell me. I want to help!" Claire looked up at him, his worried face, and blurted out, "His face was so rotten... Decayed... I couldn't... He was dead," she said, too many thoughts flashing through her head to be able to form coherent sentences. "Who?" asked Charlie. "Boone," said Claire. "Boone's body was in the water." Charlie's jaw dropped open, his brow creasing into a frown of confusion. "But Claire - it couldn't be - we buried his body way up in the jungle!" "You were there," said Claire. "You saw the body, didn't you?" Charlie shook his head. "I'm soory, Claire. When I swam over to help you, you were all alone in the water." "But the body was right there!" exclaimed Claire. "You must have seen it, it was right beside me!" "What's going on here?" asked Sawyer, running up the beach towards them. "I heard her screaming from way down at the camp. Is she alright?" "She's fine, she's just... having some problems," said Charlie. Claire's eyes widened. "You don't believe me!" she exclaimed. "You think I'm making all of this up?" "No, Claire, I don't, it's just..." Charlie glanced at Sawyer uncomfortably. "We've been out in the sun for a long time... maybe you were seeing things." "I'm not seeing things, I know what I saw was real!" shouted Claire, unable to lower her voice. How could he question her like that? "Will someone tell me what the devil's goin' on here?" asked Sawyer, running his fingers through his hair in annoyance. "Boone's body was in the water," snapped Claire, before Charlie could make up another excuse. "And I know we buried him on the island, but I know what I saw. It was definitely him." Sawyer shrugged. "I'll go have a look in the water for you. But you better head back to our beach. I'll come tell you if I find anything." "Thanks, Sawyer," said Charlie, and Sawyer ran down to the waves. "Come on, Claire. Let's head back," said Charlie, gently pulling her to her feet. But she pulled away from him. "Don't touch me," she said. "How could you not believe me? Everyone already thinks I'm crazy, thanks to old Ethan and his attempt to steal my baby, and now the one person I thought I could trust thinks I'm mental. Thanks a lot, Charlie." She said his name so coldly it felt good as it rolled off her tongue. He looked stunned. Claire began up the beach to where the camp was and Charlie followed, not knowing what to say or how to make it right. 


End file.
